Friday, October 1, 1999
The founders of MediaQ believe that in the next few years, application-specific items will be the rave, and desktop-bound PCs will be history. “Very soon, people will not be happy with their limited access to the Internet. They are going to want to connect from anywhere, at any time,” explains Sunder Velamuri, co-founder and vice president of sales and marketing for MediaQ, a company that offers custom solutions for graphics-intensive devices.
But MediaQ isn’t limiting itself to a couple of portable Web access devices. From the chips that will be used in tomorrow’s SmartCars to future generations of graphics-intensive Palm Pilots, MediaQ plans to be the company for an age in which smaller is better. “We wanted to be a driving force in the next computing wave, where smart appliances will redefine the computing experience,” says Ramesh Singh, co-founder and CEO of MediaQ. The company is targeting devices that face the double challenge of a limited power supply and scarcity of space.
Whether the promised post-PC age will materialize remains to be seen. But experts agree that current trends in consumer electronics point towards a smaller, application-specific world. “Right now, there’s hardly a perceived need for MediaQ’s advanced graphics logic for handhelds, but there’s an explosion about to occur in the adoption of handhelds,” according to Mobile Insights analyst Gerry Purdy, Ph.D. “People will demand and expect to have support for motion, animation, video, and more in their hand-held. And that’s where MediaQ comes in as an important player.”
According to International Data Corp., the information appliance market will balloon to some 40 million units by the year 2002. Mobile devices will be stealing action from PCs, whose sales are expected to decline. “MediaQ is doing the foundation work now for what will be mainstream in less than a year,” says Purdy. “We expect them to be the NeoMagic (a premiere graphic chip manufacturer) of hand-held computing.”
Small Wonder
MediaQ provides OEMs with a complete system solution, including software drivers, hardware reference, platform support, development tools and software tools. The crown jewel of the MediaQ solution is the MQ-200, successor to the MQ-100, which was purchased earlier by Hitachi.
The company’s vision was to make a chip that combines 2D-accelerated graphics and display system with embedded DRAM while not exceeding Ethernet, modem and home-phone network capabilities; all of this was to be accomplished while consuming a minimal amount of power and space. “Traditional solutions use an external link between the graphics chip and the memory,” explains Ignatius Tjandrasuwita, vice president of engineering and co-founder. “This makes them considerably slower, larger, less efficient, and more power consuming. By using embedded DRAM technology, MediaQ has stepped around this hurdle.”
A hand-held system running Windows CE and using the MQ200 can output laptop-like graphics to an LCD screen. The MQ-200, which boasts a 128-bit 2D graphics accelerator, consumes a meager 150 milliwatts of power – about one third of what standard laptop graphics chips consume. By using the MQ-200 chip, then, manufacturers can support lavish graphic capabilities while adding about two hours to the battery life of a hand-held computer.
Along with the forecasted power minimization and correlating increase in battery life length, the MQ-200 also brings a host of options to existing laptops and hand-held computers. For example, using Qview technology, it is possible for a user to have one image displayed on an external CRT screen, while a different image is shown on the LCD screen. So, when making a presentation, users could project the image that the audience is intended to view on one screen, while reviewing their notes on the other.
MediaQ doesn’t expect to be alone for long in the embedded DRAM field. Epson has already announced its own EDRAM graphics chip, due out by the end of the year. Everyone from Intel to NeoMagic may become competition, once the post-PC world starts slashing profit margins in the more orthodox fields. And that’s where MediaQ hopes being a first mover will be to its advantage.
From the Top
In March 1997, Singh, Velamuri and Tjandrasuwita quit their jobs and, with a $2 million investment, started MediaQ. Since then, the trio has spent many long, hard - but fulfilling - hours at the office. The launch of MediaQ has grounded Velamuri, who has a pilot’s license and likes to fly recreationally. “The last time I flew was about two and a half years ago, and it’s no coincidence,” reflects Velamuri.
It’s been a long road in high-end graphics for the three. They met a decade ago at Chips & Technologies, the Texas-based company that has since been acquired by Intel. “I basically started working there because I’m a huge Cowboys fan,” recalls Singh. Despite the pressures of a working in a startup, he still tries to catch as many games as he can.
The trio agrees that despite the pay cuts, long hours and relative instability, the experience of a startup is profoundly satisfying. Says Velamuri, “It’s something I think everybody should try.” “You have to remember to have fun. It’s the most important thing,” adds Tjandasuwita, who has recently been acquired himself - by way of marriage. These days, the MediaQ team is busy promoting the company’s product. Once the MediaQ is well established, however, Velamuri wants to take to the air again, perhaps in his own plane. Maybe by then he will be able to access the Internet at high altitudes, via a device with a MediaQ chip inside.
